1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a terminal connector, and in particular to a terminal connector to which an electrical wire with an insulating cover can be electrically connected without stripping the insulating cover in advance of the connecting operation of the wire.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, as such a terminal connector, there is known a terminal connector as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 60-91573.
The conventional connector has a terminal body comprising an electrical connecting section to which a partner terminal connector is electrically connected and a wire connecting section to which a connecting member is electrically mounted.
The connecting member comprises a C-shaped member having a base plate portion and first and second erected wall portions provided on opposite sides of the base plate portion. The first erected wall portion has a recess into which an insulating cover of an electrical wire is tightly secured. The second erected wall portion also has a recess, of which width is narrower than that of the recess of the former wall portion, into which a conductor of the electrical wire is tightly secured to establish an electrical connection between the connecting member and the conductor.
In use of the terminal connector, first the connecting member is mounted to the wire connecting section of the terminal body by clamping clamping portions provided opposite sides of the wire connecting section with the base plate portion of the connecting member. Then, the electrical wire is attached to the connecting member by pressurizingly inserting the electrical wire into the recesses of the first and second wall portions of the connecting member. In this case, the insulating cover of the electrical cover is tightly secured within the recess of the first wall portion of the connecting member. On the other hand, since the width of the recess of the second wall portion is smaller than that of the recess of the first wall portion, the insulating cover is stripped when it is pressurizingly inserted into the recess of the second wall portion, so that the conductor of the electrical wire is brought into contact with the inner surface of the recess of the second wall portion to establish an electrical connection between the electrical wire and the connecting member. As a result, an electrical connection between the electrical wire and the terminal connector is established.
In the conventional terminal connector as described above, however, there are disadvantages such as follows. Namely, in the conventional terminal connector, since two processes that mounts the connecting member to the terminal body and connects the electrical wire to the connecting member at the two recesses are required in order to connect the electrical wire to the terminal connector, it is difficult to improve operation efficiency for the connection. Further, in the conventional terminal connector, since the size of the electrical wire is changed, it is required to prepare different connecting members having recesses of different sizes. This means trouble in parts control of the terminal connector since each of these connecting members has bulky nature due to its structure.